Radulović: Solution lies in dialogue

With its insistence on the request to withdraw the religious freedom law, the Church is making a political, not a legal pressure on decision-makers. It might be interpreted as taking a better negotiation stance, but the international community might see it as copying the laws from early 90s, assessed Mr Branislav Radulović, the President of the Montenegro’s Association of Lawyers.

In an interview with Dnevne Novine daily, he emphasizes that dialogue and the conclusion of a basic agreement between the Church and the State represent the solution, as any other way would be extremely dangerous for the Montenegrin society.

When asked whether the Strasbourg Court ruling can have a more significant impact having in mind that the Metropolitanate still hasn’t filed an initiative to the Constitutional Court and that it’s not possible to withdraw the Law, Mr Radulović said: “The fact that the Metropolitanate still hasn’t submitted the initiative and does not use this mechanism guaranteed by the Constitution might come as a consequence of their estimation that with all their gatherings they can force the governmental structures to ‘withdraw the Law.’

On a possible compromise in this specific situation, he noted: “The solution is in dialogue and the basic agreement between the State and the Church. I believe the Church should solve the problems with the State before the elections are called for, so that the whole process can be held without any impact of the church issue on the elections.”

Speaking about the responsibility of activists, individuals and intellectuals, the President of the Montenegro’s Association of Lawyers said: “Today we can see how important it would be if only some renowned lawyers and professors had involved in resolving some issues or contributing to their better understanding. Montenegro must not remain a society with one or two sources of information. That is why we have to develop a civic, free and open society.”